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debz57a52's review
3.0
I'm torn rating this book. On one hand, I am still really enjoying learning about the wider world of the Gelflings in this series, and I definitely plan on finishing the fourth book. On the other hand, this book dragged quite a bit, and it clearly took me pretty long to read it, in comparison tot he first two. Part of this is that the Gelflings standing up the the Skeksis are traveling all over the land with a quest in mind, and each new group brings some kind of change or adventure. Part of it is also that I was really having trouble in this book remembering that it is Amri's perspective (on the cover) we follow, not Kylan or Naia, and keeping all these names straight has been a challenge. I now have a sticky note on the inside cover of my book with notes about who each people is, if they appear to be more than just a passing introduction. That obviously slows down my reading, when I need to consult the sticky note.
bybookandbone's review
4.0
I think I built this one up a bit too much in my head, though it's still very good.
Calling them young adult does them a disservice though. They're middle grade books. That's not a negative, they're fantastic middle grade, but if someone wanted a young adult novel they're going to be disappointed.
The Mariner is a great character, having a grey morality instead of just being evil. She stood by the Sifa (a gelfling clan) and did not support the Skeksisat first .
I wish these books were a bit more in depth. Characters that were big parts of previous books barely speak in this one (despite being present and supposedly involved).
This book was from Amri's pov but he just feels like Kaylen (who says about two words the whole book).
Calling them young adult does them a disservice though. They're middle grade books. That's not a negative, they're fantastic middle grade, but if someone wanted a young adult novel they're going to be disappointed.
The Mariner is a great character, having a grey morality instead of just being evil. She stood by the Sifa (a gelfling clan) and did not support the Skeksis
I wish these books were a bit more in depth. Characters that were big parts of previous books barely speak in this one (despite being present and supposedly involved).
This book was from Amri's pov but he just feels like Kaylen (who says about two words the whole book).
marydrover's review
4.0
As you can see, my love for these books has increased with each one! This is also the first of a long list of preorders that I’ve fallen very behind on. And oh, it’s so good to return to these characters! Especially as I’ve just discovered there’s been a fourth book announced that’s coming out in August, and you can bet I’ve already preordered it. Again, this picks up right where the second one left off, and with another new narrator! This time, we’re following along in Amri’s POV, which I was super excited to get. I enjoyed him a lot as a character, and it was really nice to see the daylighter world through his cave-dwelling perspective.
And though I loved this, it wasn’t as great as the second one. A lot happened in very little time, and I thought this could have easily been a solid 100 pages longer. The traveling bits took a paragraph at most when they were traveling massive distances. We visited three very distinct cities in Thra in the blink of an eye. I did enjoy getting to see the different cultures, though I wish we’d had more time with the Dousans as we did with the Sifas, even if it only came in more description. Overall, this was good. I’m excited for the next one!
And though I loved this, it wasn’t as great as the second one. A lot happened in very little time, and I thought this could have easily been a solid 100 pages longer. The traveling bits took a paragraph at most when they were traveling massive distances. We visited three very distinct cities in Thra in the blink of an eye. I did enjoy getting to see the different cultures, though I wish we’d had more time with the Dousans as we did with the Sifas, even if it only came in more description. Overall, this was good. I’m excited for the next one!
zitongren's review
2.0
2 stars. I’m seriously starting to become bored with the series now. I once stated that book 1 was to set up for greater events in book 2 and that ended up being half true. For those that have read the second book, not much actually really ended up occurring in terms of plot. Now, this third book is again, sort of like that. The entire story has now become a repetitive slog of, we have to go to this location on the map now and now that we have accomplished that we have to go to the next place of the map and continue that for 3 entire books and it gets very boring.
Each book also gradually adds more places to the map at the front of the book, in which whether they have not thought of the other places before or that they did this on purpose. This ended up bothering me as you know exactly where they are going to go next simply based on the new locations they added. For what I once thought was going to be this vast magical fantasy world almost feels isolated as the characters do not bypass any other locations but the ones they travel to and I’m here like, where is everything else in this world? Do Gelflings only live in a select few areas, are there no more towns or farms spread across the world?
Each book also introduces a new character from each tribe that they go to which has slowly increased the number of characters per book. Each book also centres on a different character which is a bit strange, starting with Naia, then Kylan and this time, Amri. Even this formula has become repetitive with teach character doubting themselves, and dare I say it, whining about how amazing everyone else around the is and how forgettable they are before finding their own talents by the end of the book. While this is great for individual character development, we don’t need to see the same thing three times in a row and it possibly could have been made more interesting, especially since this is targeted towards a younger audience, if it only focussed on one main protagonist.
The whole book feels quite bland and nothing feels exciting like it should be, with the plot twists being overly obvious due to the standard quest style trope giving little excitement to things that could have been made more exciting, which is a real shame.
My favourite out the the three that I have read so far would be book 2, but after reading this book, I have become distanced from the story unfortunately. 4/10
Each book also gradually adds more places to the map at the front of the book, in which whether they have not thought of the other places before or that they did this on purpose. This ended up bothering me as you know exactly where they are going to go next simply based on the new locations they added. For what I once thought was going to be this vast magical fantasy world almost feels isolated as the characters do not bypass any other locations but the ones they travel to and I’m here like, where is everything else in this world? Do Gelflings only live in a select few areas, are there no more towns or farms spread across the world?
Each book also introduces a new character from each tribe that they go to which has slowly increased the number of characters per book. Each book also centres on a different character which is a bit strange, starting with Naia, then Kylan and this time, Amri. Even this formula has become repetitive with teach character doubting themselves, and dare I say it, whining about how amazing everyone else around the is and how forgettable they are before finding their own talents by the end of the book. While this is great for individual character development, we don’t need to see the same thing three times in a row and it possibly could have been made more interesting, especially since this is targeted towards a younger audience, if it only focussed on one main protagonist.
The whole book feels quite bland and nothing feels exciting like it should be, with the plot twists being overly obvious due to the standard quest style trope giving little excitement to things that could have been made more exciting, which is a real shame.
My favourite out the the three that I have read so far would be book 2, but after reading this book, I have become distanced from the story unfortunately. 4/10
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